


you're my wish tonight

by elizabethdolly



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: M/M, Mooseheads Era, Prom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-25
Updated: 2017-06-25
Packaged: 2018-11-19 02:14:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11303634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elizabethdolly/pseuds/elizabethdolly
Summary: When prom is the same night as a game, Jo makes a prom for Nate.





	you're my wish tonight

**Author's Note:**

> Not beta'd. Title from Meg and Dia's "Nineteen Stars"
> 
> No connection to these people. This is a work of fiction
> 
> Come talk to me @ https://soft-hockeybros.tumblr.com

"Maybe it's good we didn't end up going to prom."

"Uh, what makes you say that?"

Jo is aiming for chill, but can feel his voice wavering. Definitely not chill. 

"What if I just built it up so much and it wouldn't have been that good? Maybe it's better that I just don't know and it stays a good thought in my head, eh?"

Jo forces himself to put on a neutral face and pointedly stare out the window. Nate has been talking about prom for as long as Jo has known him it seems. The dressing up, the dancing, the tradition. Jo never really cared too much; prom always seemed like it was more for the girls with their hair and make up and dressing up and photos. He honestly can't imagine dancing and talking to people he doesn't really like for hours and hours. He also can't imagine going with a girl, not when he'd really love to go with Nate.

Nate, however, is enraptured with prom and Jo, for better or worse, is enraptured with Nate.

\--

The issue then with Nate potentially accepting not going to prom is that Jo spent hours, and a fair amount of money, to set up a mock prom night. Like, the back porch at his billet's looks pretty great if he says so himself. Fairy lights, a pre-programmed playlist with some slow jams, and he even got some champagne cause this is a celebratory thing. Plus Jo's dancing becomes a little more forgiving with a few drinks. 

Point is he went all out because Nate was crushed when they got their season schedule and it conflicted with prom night. Moping and pouting levels of crushed that Jo just couldn't deal with, especially since each time he looked and saw Nate pouting, he wanted to kiss the pout off his face.

Nate was still considering going a few weeks before, but decided against it because "We'd only be there for two or three songs and what's even the point." Jo nodded along because he didn't care either way, but he honestly just hated how Nate would frown anytime he passed a poster reminding students that the last day to buy their tickets was coming up or advertising some fundraiser to benefit the prom committee.

That's when the idea first hit him: he could just make a prom for Nate.

\--

To be fair, his billet mom helps a lot. When he first brings it up, she asks why he wants to do this and all Jo can think to blurt out is "It's really important to Nate." The "Nate is really important to me" goes unsaid. 

She recommends he looks at some ideas on Pinterest and decides what he wants to do, which is how he ends up with what he thinks is a very nice set up on the back porch. He's got fairy lights draped around the railings and trees, candles lit on the table, champagne chilling in the fridge along with the sushi his billet picked up for him during their game, and of course, a prom playlist. 

He's brave enough to put a few slow songs on there. He hopes when they come on, he'll be tipsy enough that he'll actually hold onto Nate like he wants to, wrap his arms around him and rock against him. Jo's thought a lot about his feelings for Nate, thought about how everything will be different after the draft and thought about how maybe having one perfect prom would be worth it.

\--

For now, he's a few minutes away from his house, wiping his sweaty palms against his dress pants. He got Nate to drive home in his game day suit because "You wanted to go to prom to wear a suit, so you can at least wear one on prom night." It sounds like a weak argument to his ears, but Nate agrees.

Nate pulls up and the lights are everywhere so of course he asks "What's up with the lights Jo? Your billet throwing you a party?"

Jo looks down at his hands in his lap and prays for the ground to swallow him up, the sooner the better. 

"Would you be my prom date Nathan?"

Nate reaches over and places his hand over Jo's. He rubs over Jo's knuckles until he looks up.

"I'd love to. You're pretty late with your promposal though."

Nate laughs as he says it, eyes crinkling up and it makes Jo smile too.

"Just come on you loser."

The chirping lets Jo relax a little and pretend that this really is just one bro making up a prom for his best bro, lets him pretend that he's not in love with Nate and that he doesn't have special songs picked out towards the end of the playlist that will get them slow dancing.

\--

They start with dinner and champagne and Nate continues chirping Jo about everything, even though he's beaming throughout.

"So she picked up the sushi and the champagne? What did you do again?"

"I guess nothing. It was like Cinderella when all the animals started cleaning and fixing her dress. They put up all the lights and even made this sick playlist."

"I figured." Nate laughs before popping a piece of the salmon roll into his mouth. "You know this is pretty perfect. It cuts out the middle man."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I'd probably want to hang out with you at prom anyways, so now we can just chill and we don't have to deal with the annoying people from school."

Jo can't think too long about why Nate would want to hang out with him at prom anyways, so he takes to the mock dance floor, feeling loose and buzzed on account of the champagne and the anonymity that the tree-surrounded porch affords them.

It starts with them dancing across from one another, opposite poles of an invisible circle, but as the songs start to slow down, they get closer together. Jo is feeling bold from the champagne and the fact that Nate is still here at all, so he closes the distance and drops his arms around Nate's waist.

They rock together and Jo rests his head against Nate's shoulder. He hears the last song of the playlist come on and he's honestly not ready to have to look at Nate once it ends. It's 90's music to its core and when Jo was coming up blank on songs to pick, his billet joked that this song was everywhere when she had her prom.

The chorus got to him, making him think back to their "online dating" when Nate told him he had to come up and play for the Mooseheads, had to play with Nate. Jo agreed, but even before he knew Nate, from those few messages, he knew there was something there; at the time, he didn't know it would grow to these romantic feelings that make him feel like his heart is too big for his chest, threatening to beat its way out when Nate looks at him and smiles, but here they are.

Nate takes a step back and this is it, he's going ask what Jo is doing and why he actually set this all up. Everything Jo built up for the night is going to come crashing down in the worst rejection.

Except that's not how it goes at all.

Nate steps back, glossy eyes and flushed cheeks, and he grabs Jo's hand, spins him around once, then twice and pulls him close in to him. One of his arms drops to its previous resting place along the low slope of Jo's back, but the other snakes around him higher up, tight against his waist.

Jo worries that Nate is going to hear his heart because it's doing that escape thing where it's pounding like hands on a door wanting out! out! Looking back later, Jo will realize Nate's chest was doing the same thing as he turns his head and kisses Jo's neck. He kisses light and questioning, as if in spite of everything tonight, Jo could still turn him away.

Jo can't is the thing, so when Nate moves from his neck to his cheek, Jo goes for the lips. Nate's lips are a little chapped actually, too much time on the ice and not enough Chapstick after, but it's still perfect and Jo is content to just stand there pressing lips together.

They stop when Nate looks instantly guilty and shares that "I forgot to let my billet know. Oh and it's so late. I haven't even checked my phone."

"It's okay. Mine called yours and said you'd be staying over."

"So you were pretty sure I'd say yes, huh?"

Jo pauses.

"Yeah, I guess I never thought you wouldn't want to do a prom, even if it wasn't the traditional one."

Nate laughs at that and pulls Jo against him again.

"I mean, I think this is all the things traditional prom would have. Great dinner, good songs, illegally purchased alcohol and a pretty cute date to boot."

Jo sighs and lets himself enjoy the warmth of Nate next to him.

"Can we talk about this in the morning? I'm getting really tired." He yawns to emphasize his point.

"Of course Jo. We should probably bring in some of the stuff though."

\--

When Jo wakes up the next morning, he's sure the whole thing was a dream: the dancing, the kissing, all of it. 

Except for the living, breathing evidence that's curled under him. 

Jo wonders if he can turn and look at Nate without waking him up, but he decides that might be too creepy. He just wants something to verify that this is really real.

"You're thinking too loud" comes the verification from a raspy, sleepy voice.

"You're up?"

"Unfortunately. Go back to bed. It's too early to for this. We can talk and kiss more when we wake up."

Jo can't argue with that. He grabs Nate's hand with one of his and just squeezes.

"Also Jo, I never thanked you for last night. It was perfect."

Jo beams and hides his face in Nate's hair.

"Now we've just got to win the Mem Cup, eh?"

**Author's Note:**

> The song Jo's billet recommended is "I Knew I Loved You" by Savage Garden because it's soft and sweet, like these two. 
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjnmICxvoVY


End file.
